Feature Stories

We’ve got something for everyone here in Features — people stories, off-the-beaten-path kind of stories, science-in-action sagas. Take your pick!

19 June 2018

Staffers from opposite ends of the building (Jonathan Billings, left, and Steve Rowland) meet at SnackChat.

"SnackChat" builds community at the MagLab

Monthly gatherings prepare employees for the dreaded awkward elevator ride.

4 June 2018

Team captain of the MagLab, Director Greg Boebinger (far left) with fellow team members from across the lab in front of the world-record 900 MHz NMR magnet.

Rooting for Team Science

From physics to chemistry to biology, science isn’t for loners anymore. It takes a squad to make progress in an increasingly interdisciplinary world.

9 May 2018

MagLab chemist Ryan Rodgers was awarded the Distinguished University Scholar Award from Florida State University earlier this month.

Ryan Rodgers makes it happen

With determination, confidence and a top-notch team, this MagLab chemist exposed the complex secrets of crude oil, busting open a vast, new field.

5 April 2018

CellBert isn't afraid to get a little dirty in his mission to keep our magnet areas clean as a whistle.

CellBert named lab’s Most Valuable Bot

The MagLab’s DC Field Facility hit pay dirt with this hire, who works tirelessly to keep magnet cells spick and span.

19 February 2018

The demands of competitive swimming prepared lab assistant Christopher Reis well for a science career.

Ten ways sports can make you a better scientist

Looking for something to give you the edge in your research? Join the team.

12 February 2018

Smitten Cooper pairs swing each other and dosey doe down a superconductor.

A match made in physics

Whether with people, particles or the forces of physics, love always finds a way.

4 October 2017

MagLab materials scientist Ke Han with tiny samples of manganese gallium, which has shown promise for magnetic applications.

Stuck with Neodymium?

Using high-field electromagnets, scientists explore a promising alternative to the increasingly expensive rare earth element widely used in motors.

17 July 2017

Charlie Sanabria checks on samples in the furnace.

Beating the heat treatment problem

Looking for ways to make better superconductors for the next-generation particle accelerators, a young scientist homed in on how they were heat-treated. He was getting warmer.

1 May 2017

Magneto-optical (MO) image of a 3.3 mm wide YBCO on RABiTS coated conductor.

Intro to high-temperature superconductors

At the National MagLab and other labs across the globe, the race to discover ever-warmer superconductors is heating up. Find out what these materials are, what they’re good for and why this field is red hot.

7 October 2016

Research on topological materials done at the MagLab.

Tapping into the Topological Promise

At the National MagLab, scientists have been experimenting for years on materials first dreamed up by the newest physics Nobel laureates decades ago.

26 August 2016

MagLab mechanical engineer Bob Walsh (left) and FSU professor Greg Erickson examine a cow skull damaged in the MTS machine.

MagLab measures a megabeast

When documentary filmmakers needed to know the bite force of a prehistoric megabeast, who did they turn to? The National MagLab.

13 July 2016

Ryan Baumbach monitors a crystal growth.

Seeing the future through crystals

Deep in their beautiful lattices, crystals hold secrets about the future of technology and science. Ryan Baumbach aims to find them.

1 July 2016

Science and cycling

During the sport's biggest month of the year, MagLab staffers talk about how biking enhances their life — and their science.

23 June 2016

Sample holder designed and assembled by Shermane Benjamin

Small wonders

Science in a tight space requires ingenuity, tenacity and a really good pair of tweezers.

14 June 2016

When scientists go on vacation

Time off from the lab can recharge batteries, inspire new insights and give the brain a break — even when a little science sneaks in.

22 April 2016

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce by Caroline McNiel

Sustainable science

At the National MagLab, we believe in renewable, responsible science. Research conducted in high magnetic fields leads to materials and energy solutions that could have lasting impact on our world economy and ecosystem.